Oil burner combustion head



Dec. 26, 1967 w. w. POPYK OIL BURNER COMBUSTION HEAD Filed Oct. 13, 1965 FIG.

FIG. 2.

INVENTOR WILLIAM W. POPYK ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,360,201 OIL BURNER COMBUSTION HEAD William W. Popyk, Allentown, Pa., assignor to General Machine Company, Inc., Emmaus, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Oct. 13, 1965, Ser. No. 495,633 4 Claims. (Cl. 239-400) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An oil burner combustion head has a substantially cylindrical wall having one end for connection to a burner blast tube and a wall at the other end with a large central opening through which a conical spray of fuel-primary air is delivered. A plurality of substantially smaller openings circularly disposed about the central opening are directed to the axis of the central opening and at an acute angle therewith for the introduction of secondary air. Advantageously, deflectors inside the head swirl the air passing through the head and delivered through the central opening.

This invention relates to an oil burner combustion head utilizing the principle of secondary aeration which is of particular value for use with pressure atomizing type oil burners as well as with oil burners of the forced draft type.

The combustion head of this invention is particularly advantageous in the following respects:

(1) It is simple in design and inexpensive to manufacture since it can be made of one piece.

(2) It functions to provide regulation of the primary air and the secondary air for combustion through one simple device.

(3) It requires no field adjustment.

(4) It provides for a maximum efficiency of combustion by minimizing the quantity of combustion air required.

(5) It provides for the burning of fuel oil with balanced and stable flame characteristics.

(6) It directs the secondary air so as to confine the fuel and primary air spray in a manner to minimize impingement of the flame on the combustion chamber walls.

(7) It prevents unburned fuel and carbon buildup inside the combustion head as well as on the nozzle and electrodes.

(8) The secondary air ports are not susceptible to operational obstruction and malfunctioning due to their application in the firing zone; large openings are employed and the heat burns off any lint or dust that may accumulate in the secondary air ports.

(9) It assures a minimum of combustion pulsation due to smoother and more regular firing characteristics; and it assures minimum of reverberation type operational noises because of less susceptibility to pulsation. I

(10) It can be used in conversion applications with most conventional oil burners.

The combustion head of the invention has a substantially cylindrical wall with one end thereof adapted to be connected to a burner blast tube. An end wall contiguous with the other end of the cylindrical wall has a relatively large central opening coaxial with the cylindrical wall through which a substantially conical spray of fuel and primary air is delivered to a combustion zone. This end wall also has a plurality of substantially smaller openings circularly disposed between the said central opening and the cylindrical wall through which the source of secondary air is supplied in a plurality of air jets around the burning fuel oil. The axis of each of these smaller openings is directed toward the axis of the central opening making an acute angle therewith of from about 5 3,360,201 Patented Dec. 26, 1967 to 27 /2 Spaced deflectors extending from the inner periphery of the cylindrical wall swirl the primary air directed towards the central opening.

The invention will further be clarified by the reading of the following description in conjunction with the drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a vertical section through a combustion head of the invention shown in association with conventional oil burner parts.

FIGURE 2 is a plan view partially broken away, of the apparatus of FIGURE 1, and

FIGURE 3 is a front elevation taken on the plane indicated by the line 33 in FIGURE 1.

A combustion head 2 in accordance with the invention projects through an opening 4 in a combustion chamber front wall 6. Combustion head 2 has a cylindrical wall 8 having a rear flange portion 10 which fits inside the discharge end of an oil burner blast tube 12. Flange 10 and tuble 12 are secured together by machine screws indicated at 4.

Combustion head 2 has a front wall 18 contiguous with cylindrical wall 8 and provided with a central opening 20 which is coaxial with the cylindrical wall 8. A conical spray indicated at 22 of fuel oil and primary air is delivered through opening 20 by means of a pressure atomizing oil burner nozzle 24 which is connected to a fuel line 26 passing through static disc-support assembly 28 mounted in blast tube 12 through which passes air ssupplied by a burner fan (not illustrated). Front wall 18 also is provided with a plurality of smaller openings 32 for secondary air spaced between central opening 20 and cylindrical wall 8. The axis of each opening 32 as specifically illustrated intersects the axis of central opening 20 at an angle directed towards the fuel oil-primary air spray 22.

A plurality of equally spaced helical air deflectors 34 extend from the inner periphery of the cylindrical wall 8 to swirl in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in FIGURE 3, the air supplied by a fan (not shown) and entering combustion head 2 from blast tube 12 prior to the passage of a major portion of the air through central opening 20 for admixture of the fuel.

A pair of ignition electrode elements 38 and 40 adjacent to nozzle 24 are supported in a conventional manner in the static disc-support member 28.

It will be noted that the combustion head 2 of the invention is of single piece construction being, for example, a metallic or non-metallic casting.

Operation In operation, the air which is conventionally supplied through blast tube 12 is set into a swirling motion to provide a swirl of primary air passing through central opening 20 to provide for a thorough mixture of fuel oilprimary air spray 22. Secondary air passes through openings 32 external of the oil burner and is directed in air jets at an acute angle to the axis of central opening 20 and towards the cone 22 of fuel oil and primary air mixture in the combustion zone. The air supplied through openings 32 in addition to implementing combustion characteristics for cleaner, quieter and more efficient oil burning acts to provide more stable and balanced flame characteristics.

It will be understood that the above described embodiment is merely by way of illustration and is not intended to be limiting.

What is claimed is:

1. A combustion head for use in an oil burner utilizing secondary aeration which is introduced externally of the burner and comprising:

a substantially cylindrical wall having one end thereof adapted to be connected to a burner blast tube, an

end wall contiguous with the other end of the cylindrical wall, said end wall having a relatively large central opening coaxial with the cylindrical wall through which a substantially conical spray of fuelprimary air is delivered to a combustion zone and having a plurality of substantially smaller openings circularly disposed between said central opening and the cylindrical wall with the axis of each opening being directed towards the axis of the central opening and making an acute angle therewith for the introduction of secondary air external of the oil burner.

2. A combustion head in accordance with claim 1 in which the angle between the axis of the smaller opening and the axis of the central opening is in the range from about 5 to 27 /2 for the purpose of introducing second ary air around and into the firing zone.

3. A combustion head in accordance with claim 1 of a single piece construction.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Bucknam 239424.5

Forster 239-4245 X Taylor 239424.5 Gross 239424.5 X Reed 15876 X Reif 239405 Glendenning 239416 M. HENSON WOOD, JR., Primary Examiner.

M. MAR, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A COMBUSTION HEAD FOR USE IN AN OIL BURNER UTILIZING SECONDARY AERATION WHICH IS INTRODUCED EXTERNALLY OF THE BURNER AND COMPRISING: A SUBSTANTIALLY CYLINDRICAL WALL HAVING ONE END THEREOF ADAPTED TO BE CONNECTED TO A BURNER BLAST TUBE, AN END WALL CONTIGUOUS WITH THE OTHER END OF THE CYLINDRICAL WALL, SAID END WALL HAVING A RELATIVELY LARGE CENTRAL OPENING COAXIAL WITH THE CYLINDRICAL WALL THROUGH WHICH A SUBSTANTIALLY CONICAL SPRAY OF FUELPRIMARY AIR IS DELIVERED TO A COMBUSTION ZONE AND HAVING A PLURALITY OF SUBSTANTIALLY SMALLER OPENINGS CIRCULARLY DISPOSED BETWEEN SAID CENTRAL OPENING AND THE CYLINDRICAL WALL WITH THE AXIS OF EACH OPENING BEING DIRECTED TOWARDS THE AXIS OF THE CENTRAL OPENING AND MAKING AN ACUTE ANGLE THEREWITH FOR THE INTRODUCTION OF SECONDARY AIR EXTERNAL OF THE OIL BURNER. 